Time Stands Still for These Little Leaguers

I have two children, and since I know all about Xs and Ys, I understand it was pretty much up to me what brand I got. I had girls.

I made the decision from the very beginning to avoid a life of T-ball and Little League games, volunteering the wife to work in the snack stand, and worrying about who makes all-stars.

I know there are some girls who can play baseball, but I watched the wife try to hit a 16-inch softball while we were still dating and talking to each other, so I knew if the girls took after their mother they’d be shopping most of the time.

That’s why I don’t have much sympathy for a large group of parents who found themselves standing for two hours outside Dodger Stadium recently with more than 100 excited, antsy Santa Monica T-ballers and Little Leaguers.

They could have had girls, and dropped them off at the mall.

Here’s what happened. The Dodgers invited the Santa Monica youngsters to the stadium with the promise of going on the field and told them to arrive by 5 p.m.

The kids, ranging in age from 4 to 12, brought their baseball gloves because they’ve seen the way Shawn Green plays defense, and obviously the team could use one of them. They also brought balls and paper for autographs, so when they get older, they can sell them on EBay.

After about an hour, three young women from the Dodgers’ marketing department showed up and told the parents to leave their kids and to take their seats inside the stadium. There was no indication if they would ever get their kids back.

“We weren’t allowed to bring our backpacks into the stadium, but parents were told to just leave their 4- and 5-year-olds behind with no sign of any real security, and it was kind of insane,” said Todd Dufour, manager of the T-ball Giants. “None of the parents wanted to leave their kids because it was such a mess. There was talk of writing the cell phone number of the parents on every kid’s hand so they could be found later.”

I hope the parents didn’t think the Dodgers were going to pay for those cell phone calls. Boy would that have been a disaster.

I called Dodger public relations and got a recording with Tom Lasorda’s voice telling me no one was home. I called the Dodger vice president of always putting a positive spin to everything that happens in Dodger Stadium and was put on hold so I could hear Vin Scully tell me about Tom Lasorda. When I got to the ballpark, Tom Lasorda was the first one to greet me in the Dodger clubhouse.

When Lasorda leaves for good, I don’t know what the Dodgers will do for public relations.

“We were just expecting more from the Dodgers,” said Andy Finley, one of the most vocal fathers in attendance. “You remember that look Pat Nixon always had on her face; that’s what we got from the Dodger marketing reps. You’d think they’d find somebody who likes kids and who’d entertain them, maybe give them baseball cards or something while waiting. They told the kids they’d be going on the field in a couple of minutes, the kids got excited and an hour later, nothing.

“Two hours after arriving, they herded the kids on the field to graze, and the parents tried to get into the stadium to take their pictures, but weren’t allowed in because many of them had backpacks.”

The kids never got an autograph or close to any Dodgers, the parents didn’t get their pictures, and yet by all accounts once the kids got into the stadium they had a grand time. That’s also when they started eating hot dogs and ice cream.

When I finally reached a Dodger spokesman, Derrick Hall said, “By the time the season is over, 45,000 Little Leaguers will have been on the field.” There was no indication if he was including the 25 players on the Dodger roster.

Hall said the Dodgers have received nothing but positive remarks from other groups about their visits, but after checking with team personnel he admitted there were mistakes made with the Santa Monica group. “The experience should be just perfect and something they can talk about for the next 20 years and this wasn’t,” Hall said. “I’d be unhappy too, waiting that long with young kids.”

He said the team will make up for it with the Santa Monica group. I’d think sending everyone to a Laker playoff game would cover it. My girls will baby-sit.

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LASORDA SAYS he is going to China in a few weeks to look for players. I still say he’s just searching for a group of people who haven’t heard all of his stories.

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FLIP-FLOPPING back and forth between Tim Salmon, Eric Karros and Green is beginning to wear me out. Before Monday night’s game I reminded Karros his average has dropped below .300, and I’m worried now he will never recover. Karros said, “Work with me,” and then singled in his first at-bat. Green came by, and while I commended him on having one more hit (35) than strikeouts (34) for the first time this season, he said, “You’ve got me taking baby steps and you’ve got Karros going for it all; what’s with that?”

Green hit into a double play in his first at-bat; his way, I guess, of showing me he’s not any different from Karros.

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IF YOU tune into Dodger Talk on 1150, and you hear A. Martinez talking, don’t let him kid you--it’s George Martinez. The Dodgers require him to use his real first name on his media badge.

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IT MIGHT be worth it to go to a Spark game just to see Naomi Mulitauaopele’s name on the back of her jersey. Or maybe somebody can take a picture and send it to me.

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Steve Abrams:

“Your finals’ prediction of the Lakers against the Celtics may be correct, but even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

I’d like to give you the time of day, but I can’t.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com.